Traditional methods of rinsing textile articles after washing have generally used deep fill rinsing. When used in a horizontal axis machine, this method involves tumbling the articles in a sufficient quantity of water to saturate the articles and to provide an amount of excess water in which the tumbling action takes place. In a vertical axis machine, deep fill rinsing involves immersing the articles in a sufficient quantity of water to float the articles and causing agitation of the articles in the water. In both cases, the amount of water required to rinse the articles to an acceptable dilution level is considerable, particularly when repeated rinsing steps are carried out.
A number of proposals have been made with a view to reducing the amount of water required to be consumed in order to achieve an acceptable result. Many such proposals make use of the technique known as spray rinsing. This technique involves the introduction of the water used to rinse the articles into the drum via a spray nozzle or other spraying device whilst the drum is rotating at a speed sufficient to maintain the articles pressed against the walls of the drum. This causes the water to impinge directly onto the exposed surfaces of the textile articles as they rotate. The spray is directed so that, as the drum is rotated while the rinse water is introduced, the rinse water covers all of the exposed surfaces of the textile articles. An example of the manner in which rinse water can be introduced into a vertical axis washing machine by a spray rinsing method is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,524 to Sickert et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,722 to Pastryk et al also discloses a washing machine which makes use of the spray rinsing technique to rinse textile articles. In this disclosure, sufficient rinse water is sprayed onto the exposed surfaces of the articles to saturate the articles and to cause further rinse water to pass through the articles and into the tub of the machine. The rinse water collected in the tub of the machine is then recirculated to the spray nozzle and passed again through the articles. This recirculation continues for a predetermined period of time before the rinse water is drained from the machine. This recirculating rinse step is repeated up to 12 times. It is alleged that the level of detergent removal obtained by this method is equivalent to that obtained by deep fill rinse cycles but that the amount of water consumed is considerably less than that consumed by deep fill rinse cycles.
A similar method is disclosed in relation to a horizontal axis machine in U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,668 to Euler et al. Again, the rinse water is sprayed onto the exposed surfaces of the textile articles, passed through the articles and recirculated back to the spray nozzle. To achieve this, the amount of rinse water introduced to the interior of the drum must be considerably more than that required to saturate the textile articles. The patent also seems to contemplate an alternative spray rinse method in which the rinse water is not recirculated but is merely allowed to drain from the drum into a water outlet. It is believed that such a method will consume more water than a method which includes recirculation since a larger number of applications of rinse water will be required to achieve the required dilution level.
A further attempt to utilise the spray rinsing technique to reduce water consumption in the rinsing cycle of a washing machine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,790 to Badger et al. In the disclosed method, a timing device is used to provide a measure of the amount of water required to achieve a deep fill rinse. In subsequent rinsing steps, the amount of rinse water introduced is between 50% and 100% of that required for the deep fill rinse. A reduction in water consumption is achieved as long as the amount of rinse water introduced during the subsequent rinsing steps is less than 100%. During the rinsing steps, it is stated that the drain pump is operated so as to extract the water passing through the clothes.
In all of these prior art cases, the amount of rinse water introduced to the drum, and therefore to the textile articles to be rinsed, is still considerable. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of rinsing textile articles in a washing machine which consumes less rinse water than comparable known rinsing methods. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of rinsing textile articles utilising the spray rinsing technique and consuming less rinse water than has previously been thought possible. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved washing machine which makes use of the spray rinsing technique and consumes less rinse water than comparable washing machines.